Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies) is set to direct a new dark comedy, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, he has snagged two heavy-hitters for the lead roles. Flarsky, a tale about an unemployed journalist (played by Seth Rogen, who seems to be continually trying to expand his dramatic chops outside his comedic efforts) that decides to pursue his childhood crush (Charlize Theron), who now happens to be one of the most powerful women in the world. The script is penned by Dan Sterling (The Interview), and was sitting on the Black List in 2011 until it was scooped by Point Grey and Denver & Delilah. Flarsky is set for an August production start, which means we’ll likely see it in 2018.
In other news, director Matt Ross, whose last film Captain Fantastic earned Viggo Mortensen an Oscar nomination, has found his next project with Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Variety reports, and he’ll be upping his scope as he teams with TriStar. Adapted from a novel of the same name by Tom Sweterlitsch, the sci-fi film centers on a future where a landscape of virtual environments has strengthened humanities’ isolation from itself. Ross said the following about his excitement over the project:
Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ is prescient. It posits a world not so dissimilar from today, a direction we are all clearly headed where technology has altered the ways in which we interact with each other and the world around us. I hope to examine, following the book’s lead, the degree to which our lives are enhanced and deeply compromised by the technology that is already an inseparable part of our daily existence. Lynette and I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with Hannah to translate this book into the complex and relevant film we all believe it can be.
Lastly, with his Cannes winner Mimosas arriving this spring (see the gorgeous new trailer), director Oliver Laxe is already prepping his next project. Cineuropa reports that a summer shoot is in the works for That Which Burns starring Shakib Ben Omar. Following his character as a man who has a “deadly fascination with flames” and has recently been released from prison, Laxe adds, “It’s a kind of assignment on identity, fires and infernos.” Perhaps we could see a return to Cannes Film Festival in 2018 for the exciting up-and-comer.